Yay, here it is, the chapter I promised! Again, I'm so sorry that there was no update last week, and thank you all to those who understood and forgave me. I love you all!

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"... Doing here?"

"I told you, I only wanted to visit!"

"You know perfectly well that your presence here endangers her! She's already hurt enough as is!"

"I - wait... You mean she's here? And injured?"

"... Yes."

"Igneel..."

By then, the conversation was so hushed that Levy couldn't hear anymore.

The archivist stood by the closed door, a frown tugging at her lips.

Lisanna and Igneel were furiously arguing, and then suddenly, both of their voices were gripped with fear.

Who were they talking about? Who was injured?

Levy pushed herself off of the wall and then made her way to the kitchen, where she hoped to find some lunch.

She was surprised, however, to open the door and see Juvia and Gray.

"J... Juvia?"

"Levy-san!"

"What am I, chopped liver?"

Both ignored Gray's grumble.

"Did you tell him?" Was Levy's immediate question.

Juvia squirmed uncomfortably and traced the counter with her finger. "Um... Juvia did not."

Levy groaned. "Juvia!"

"Juvia is sorry! Juvia tried, but she couldn't!"

"Oi, what the hell are you two going on about?"

Once again, Gray was ignored.

"You have to tell them - all of them, eventually." Levy hissed.

"Juvia knows!" Juvia snapped. "But does it have to be now?"

"Of course it does!"

Their rising voices were soon bouncing off of the walls, and Gray, fed up with their attitude and keeping him in the dark, jumped up to his feet. "HEY!"

Both girls paused in their yelling and looked at him.

"You shut the fuck up and sit," Gray snarled towards a simmering Levy. Regardless, she did as told.

"Juvia, Levy's only looking out for you, so both of you stop your damn arguing and tell me what the hell is going on!"

Both girls were still lightly boiling with anger, but finally Juvia looked at Gray with such guilt that he felt a sudden stone in his stomach.

"Juvia hasn't been... Entirely honest with Gray-sama or her friends." Juvia said softly. Her hands were clasped together tightly, a habit that Gray knew kicked in when she was nervous.

"Why? What is it?" Gray asked, unable to keep the curiousity out of his voice.

Juvia seemed to deflate a little at his questions, and he immediately felt guilty for being so insensitive. "When Juvia was in Phantom Lord, she... did things."

Gray blinked. "I don't get it."

Juvia shot a look at Levy, who responded with a glare just as scathing.

"Juvia hurt people, Gray-sama." Juvia finally whispered. Her voice was low and quiet, but Gray heard it as though it rang throughout the room.

"When Juvia was only fourteen, she was emotionally unstable." Juvia continued to whisper. "She... I, was desperate for some sort of affection. I was rejected throughout my life because of my personality. I had no friends and my family held no love for me, so I sought out someone to love me." She paused and scratched at the wooden table.

Gray was listening intensely, his eyes a little wider than usual.

"And Juvia found him. She - I was happy for a while. He was kind, protective, and most of all, loving. But it started to show. It first started with a small slap, which I thought was Ju - my fault and I apologized. It only grew. Angry words of bitterness was thrown at me, and every night I had to care for my cuts and bruises from him. I had such fear, so I obeyed him and followed his orders. I caan still hear them; the screams of the people I hurt." Juvia's already milky skin was paling at her haunting memories.

"Oh god," Gray could hear himself faintly say. Levy's own skin was paling, her nails tapping against the table top anxiously.

"Juvia remembers crying each night." Her voice was deadly quiet, and her eyes were glazed over, her mind elsewhere. It frightened both Gray and Levy with how limp she looked, like a ragged doll. "She hated it. She hated crying, because it reminded her that she was rejected and not accepted and a bad person. But she - I kept crying, and it didn't stop. It hurt that he would hurt me, yes, but it pained me even greater that he would reject me as well. After a while, he..." She swallowed thickly.

"He... Invaded me." She said in a hushed voice.

Levy let out a noise that sounded between a whimper and a sniffle.

Gray was unusually stiff, his eyes unblinking as he stared at Juvia.

Juvia sniffed. "A few months later, Gajeel-san came. He was the first one to accept me as who I am, the one who looked past 'the gloomy rain girl'. He found out about my relationship and he helped me. Without him, I don't think I would have had the courage to break off all ties with that horrifying man."

"Who was he?"

Both girls had fear in their eyes as they stared at Gray. They had never heard him so angry, so quietly enraged, and it terrified them.

"I said who was he?" Gray asked again.

Juvia swallowed thickly. "His... His name... was Bora."

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Gajeel harshly pounded the hot metal, ignoring the stuffy heat and the feel of his sweat dripping down his bare back. He only needed to finish this and then he would be able to retire to his room and sleep.

However, his sensitive ears soon picked up the sounds of heavy and rapid footsteps, and he caught the scent of frosty mint. He scowled. What did the ice princess want?

As if on cue, the door slammed open and there stood a half-naked Gray.

"You knew!" He shouted in an accusing tone, his eyes wild and enraged.

Gajeel scowled. "Know what, dumbass?"

He was so fast that he was only a blur, and soon Gajeel found himself crashing onto the wall as Gray punched him. "He hurt Juvia! She... He raped her!"

Realization dawned on Gajeel. "Of course I knew!" He shouted, kicking Gray in the gut. "I was the first to find out! I helped her through it, alright?! That bastard deserved the beating I gave him!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Gray demanded, clutching his throbbing abdomen. "We could have helped!"

Gajeel narrowed his red eyes at this pathetic excuse of a best friend. "You know that it would have been stupid of you to," he spat. "You wouldn't have given a damn back then!"

"If I knew, I wouldn't have tried to beat the shit out of you and Juvia!" Gray screamed.

"JUST SHUT UP, OKAY?! YOU'RE A REAL PIECE OF SHIT, YOU KNOW THAT?! YOU COME IN HERE, TALKING LIKE SOME BIG BASTARD, BUT YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT YOU WOULD HAVE LEFT HER FOR DEAD BACK THEN!"

Silence fell.

The only sounds were harsh breathing and the roar of the fire.

Gajeel had disgust on his face. "Don't even lie, Gray." He said his name mockingly. "You don't even really give a damn, do you? Juvia throws herself at your feet everyday, but you don't even return her feelings! You're only egging her on! So don't you fucking dare act as if you care."

"Shut up." Gray snarled. "Yes I do! I'm not egging her on!"

"Then tell her! TELL HER YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED!" Gajeel roared. "SHE'S ALREADY HAD ENOUGH SHIT WITH BORA!"

"I CAN'T BECAUSE I LIKE HER, OKAY?! FUCK YOU GAJEEL, YOU KNOW THAT! AND I CARE MORE THAN YOU KNOW! I'LL SHOW YOU! I'LL TRACK DOWN THAT DAMN BORA AND BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM!" Gray shrieked, slamming the door behind him.

Gajeel rolled his eyes and went back to the metal. Damn. It cooled off during their fight. "About time."

Honestly. One abusive boyfriend and fight later, the ice princess finally reveals his feelings.

Gajeel paused. Should he tell him that Bora was still in a coma because of him?

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*wave of shame*

I'm sorry, I would have squeezed some NaLu in there but I thought it would be too much.

And again, so sorry for the no update last week! In return, I really hope you liked this chapter!

P.S. Did you catch Lisanna and Igneel's conversation? We're going to delve deeper into that next chapter~

Thanks for reading!

The next update will be out on Sunday as always!

Goodbye~~